Northern Ireland is gearing up for Collection Day and it’s a family affair in Newry where Aoife Robb is co-ordinating the charity’s biggest annual fundraiser for Newry and surrounds.

“It is good to give something back sometimes,” says Aoife Robb and she’d know a thing or two about volunteering.

Ever since her sister Maeve joined Special Olympics in 2007, the entire Robb family has been involved with the organisation. Aoife’s background is in accounting, so she helps out with the finances and administration with Saddle and Reins and plays a major role with Collection Day in Newry.

It really is a family affair though. “Everyone gets roped in” says Aoife. While Maeve is excelling as an equestrian rider, father Bernard is Chairperson of the club.

For Aoife though, Collection Day is the big one.

“There are two main reasons why Collection Day is so important,” she says. , “one is awareness- with people collecting all over Ireland on the same day at the same time there is such a good atmosphere and it raises huge awareness.

As charity partner for the Swim Ireland Swim for a Mile Challenge we are urging all companies to sign up now for the Swim for a Mile Corporate Challenge 2017 and support Special Olympics Ireland.
The Swim for a Mile (1,600m) Corporate Challenge event will take place at the National Aquatic Centre on Wednesday, April 5th (12pm-4pm) with 40 teams (teams consist of 4 swimmers) competing in relay format. After the great success of 2016 this event will be even bigger and better!
The fastest 10 teams (companies) will then compete in a Final at the NAC during the down time of the Irish Open Swimming Championships on Friday, April 7th (1pm-3pm) with one team being crowned champion!

Deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 29th and the cost per team is €100 with half the entry fee going to Special Olympics Ireland. You and your team will also be given a link to set up an everydayhero...

15:15
Today has been a busy day so far for Team Ireland’s floorballers with both teams in playoff action.

In the first game of the day, Sweden overcame Team 1 to advance to the Final. A spectacular solo effort by Joe McCarthy in the second half will give confidence to Team Ireland as they now prepare to face Switzerland for bronze later this evening. Coach Paul O’Callaghan was buoyed by the Irish spirit shown against the Swedes: “In the second half they stuck at their guns, got another goal; that lifted their spirits. We’ve played Switzerland twice already and it’s a real 50-50 match.”

Team 2 will face Argentina in the 5th-6th place playoff at 18:40 this evening.

17:00 **UPDATE**

Ireland’s Floorball Team 1 left everything on the court in their bronze medal game against Switzerland as they came agonisingly close in what has been described as “the game of the championship”.

The floorballers of Team 2 put in a stirring performance against Bharat in their group game. Despite the ball rarely leaving the opposition half, Bharat’s huge defensive effort and brilliant goalkeeping proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Team Ireland started brightly going close on a number of occasions; however the deadlock was broken by Bharat who found the net at the end of a swift counter attack. Bharat’s second came after a similar passage of play, leaving the score 0-2 at the break.

Team Ireland’s continued pressure paid off soon after half time, Thomas Caulfield providing the killer touch at the end of a well-worked move. The Irish continued their relentless barrage on the opposition goal, with Stephen Lee coming closest. However, as Team Ireland pushed for an equaliser in the dying seconds, Bharat finished the game with a third goal to win the match.

In the second match of the day for Team 2 well taken goals from JP Shaw and Lorcan Byrne weren’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire at Messe Graz. The side twice came from behind before the Ivorians struck late to advance to the semi-finals. JP Shaw struck first for the Irish with the help of Thomas Caulfield’s assist. ...

Medals for Team Ireland on the slopes!
Team Ireland have secured their first medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Cyril Walker (46) from Co. Armagh took bronze in today’s Giant Slalom Novice finals, while 16-year-old Laoise Kenny from Dublin secured 4th place.
“It’s the best day of her life,” said Laoise’s dad Austin. “She cut her bends really well, picked up speed along the course and some good pole work helped her to improve her time at the end.”
All three of Team Ireland’s Intermediate skiers secured medals on the slopes at Schladming.
Lorraine Whelan (36) from Co. Wicklow and Caolan McConville (13) from Co. Antrim took silver while there was bronze for Sean McCartan (16) from Co. Down. Niall Flynn (30) from Dublin achieved a participation ribbon. McConville, McCartan, Kenny and novice skier Niall Flynn are all competing in their first Games.
Lorraine Whelan said the silver medal she claimed in her division was as precious as any she has won at previous Games:...

Team Ireland were in action on the competition slopes for the first time at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming today.

Six athletes came safely through their divisioning rounds - Caolan McConville, Lorraine Whelan and Sean McCartan took on the intermediate slope at 1138m altitude while Cyril Walker, Laoise Kenny and Niall Flynn skied at novice level on Slope Schwaigerhof. The Giant Slalom finals take place on Tuesday morning.

Floorball:
Team Ireland’s Floorballers put in vastly improved performances on Day 2 of Group Stages at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Ireland Team 2 rounded off the day with a 4-4 nailbiter against Argentina in Graz. The South Americans salvaged a draw with two late goals, but Team Ireland Coach Michael Lynch had nothing but praise for his side. “That was their best performance of the day,” he said. “These guys are all new to the game. They are improving and have taken away huge...

In the first game of the day, Team 1 were defeated by Finland 0-9. Willie McGrath and Michael Minogue were standout performers in front of the biggest Irish crowd yet, with many family members having arrived in Austria on Saturday.

Game 2 proved difficult for the Irish as Russia produced a stunning shooting display to comfortably win their tie. Tomorrow will provide plenty of opportunity to pick up points with 3 games scheduled.

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Northern Ireland is gearing up for Collection Day and it’s a family affair in Newry where Aoife Robb is co-ordinating the charity’s biggest annual fundraiser for Newry and surrounds.

“It is good to give something back sometimes,” says Aoife Robb and she’d know a thing or two about volunteering.

Ever since her sister Maeve joined Special Olympics in 2007, the entire Robb family has been involved with the organisation. Aoife’s background is in accounting, so she helps out with the finances and administration with Saddle and Reins and plays a major role with Collection Day in Newry.

It really is a family affair though. “Everyone gets roped in” says Aoife. While Maeve is excelling as an equestrian rider, father Bernard is Chairperson of the club.

For Aoife though, Collection Day is the big one.

“There are two main reasons why Collection Day is so important,” she says. , “one is awareness- with people collecting all over Ireland on the same day at the same time there is such a good atmosphere and it raises huge awareness.

As charity partner for the Swim Ireland Swim for a Mile Challenge we are urging all companies to sign up now for the Swim for a Mile Corporate Challenge 2017 and support Special Olympics Ireland.
The Swim for a Mile (1,600m) Corporate Challenge event will take place at the National Aquatic Centre on Wednesday, April 5th (12pm-4pm) with 40 teams (teams consist of 4 swimmers) competing in relay format. After the great success of 2016 this event will be even bigger and better!
The fastest 10 teams (companies) will then compete in a Final at the NAC during the down time of the Irish Open Swimming Championships on Friday, April 7th (1pm-3pm) with one team being crowned champion!

Deadline for entries is Wednesday, March 29th and the cost per team is €100 with half the entry fee going to Special Olympics Ireland. You and your team will also be given a link to set up an everydayhero...

15:15
Today has been a busy day so far for Team Ireland’s floorballers with both teams in playoff action.

In the first game of the day, Sweden overcame Team 1 to advance to the Final. A spectacular solo effort by Joe McCarthy in the second half will give confidence to Team Ireland as they now prepare to face Switzerland for bronze later this evening. Coach Paul O’Callaghan was buoyed by the Irish spirit shown against the Swedes: “In the second half they stuck at their guns, got another goal; that lifted their spirits. We’ve played Switzerland twice already and it’s a real 50-50 match.”

Team 2 will face Argentina in the 5th-6th place playoff at 18:40 this evening.

17:00 **UPDATE**

Ireland’s Floorball Team 1 left everything on the court in their bronze medal game against Switzerland as they came agonisingly close in what has been described as “the game of the championship”.

The floorballers of Team 2 put in a stirring performance against Bharat in their group game. Despite the ball rarely leaving the opposition half, Bharat’s huge defensive effort and brilliant goalkeeping proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Team Ireland started brightly going close on a number of occasions; however the deadlock was broken by Bharat who found the net at the end of a swift counter attack. Bharat’s second came after a similar passage of play, leaving the score 0-2 at the break.

Team Ireland’s continued pressure paid off soon after half time, Thomas Caulfield providing the killer touch at the end of a well-worked move. The Irish continued their relentless barrage on the opposition goal, with Stephen Lee coming closest. However, as Team Ireland pushed for an equaliser in the dying seconds, Bharat finished the game with a third goal to win the match.

In the second match of the day for Team 2 well taken goals from JP Shaw and Lorcan Byrne weren’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire at Messe Graz. The side twice came from behind before the Ivorians struck late to advance to the semi-finals. JP Shaw struck first for the Irish with the help of Thomas Caulfield’s assist. ...

Medals for Team Ireland on the slopes!
Team Ireland have secured their first medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Cyril Walker (46) from Co. Armagh took bronze in today’s Giant Slalom Novice finals, while 16-year-old Laoise Kenny from Dublin secured 4th place.
“It’s the best day of her life,” said Laoise’s dad Austin. “She cut her bends really well, picked up speed along the course and some good pole work helped her to improve her time at the end.”
All three of Team Ireland’s Intermediate skiers secured medals on the slopes at Schladming.
Lorraine Whelan (36) from Co. Wicklow and Caolan McConville (13) from Co. Antrim took silver while there was bronze for Sean McCartan (16) from Co. Down. Niall Flynn (30) from Dublin achieved a participation ribbon. McConville, McCartan, Kenny and novice skier Niall Flynn are all competing in their first Games.
Lorraine Whelan said the silver medal she claimed in her division was as precious as any she has won at previous Games:...

Team Ireland were in action on the competition slopes for the first time at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming today.

Six athletes came safely through their divisioning rounds - Caolan McConville, Lorraine Whelan and Sean McCartan took on the intermediate slope at 1138m altitude while Cyril Walker, Laoise Kenny and Niall Flynn skied at novice level on Slope Schwaigerhof. The Giant Slalom finals take place on Tuesday morning.

Floorball:
Team Ireland’s Floorballers put in vastly improved performances on Day 2 of Group Stages at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Ireland Team 2 rounded off the day with a 4-4 nailbiter against Argentina in Graz. The South Americans salvaged a draw with two late goals, but Team Ireland Coach Michael Lynch had nothing but praise for his side. “That was their best performance of the day,” he said. “These guys are all new to the game. They are improving and have taken away huge...

In the first game of the day, Team 1 were defeated by Finland 0-9. Willie McGrath and Michael Minogue were standout performers in front of the biggest Irish crowd yet, with many family members having arrived in Austria on Saturday.

Game 2 proved difficult for the Irish as Russia produced a stunning shooting display to comfortably win their tie. Tomorrow will provide plenty of opportunity to pick up points with 3 games scheduled.

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I think other web site proprietors should take this web site as an model, very clean and magnificent user friendly style and design, as well as the content. You are an expert in this topic!# 80% Off Ray Bans

Greetings! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and tell you I really enjoy reading through your blog posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Thank you!# Adidas Originals

Contact Us

To assist our clubs in meeting the requirements for Children's First Act 2015,two Safeguarding 2 courses have been arranged in Connaught

Day 1:When: 1st September
Where: Connacht Hotel, Renmore, Galway
Time: 9:30-2pm
Those attending this training need to have completed Safeguarding 1. It is essential that the Club Safeguarding Officer for each club attend, but all other volunteers are welcome to attend.
Spaces are limited so please contact the Connacht office to reserve your place.
Price for the day, including a light lunch is €100

Connaught Regional Athlete ForumAthlete Leadership encourages athletes to develop skills which will empower them to be advocates for all athletes and act as a Leader for Special Olympics. Becoming involved in Athlete Leadership provides athletes with many new and different opportunities in areas of public speaking, volunteering and governance. Athletes over the age of 16 years, working with a mentor are welcome to attend the upcoming Athlete Forum.
The Athlete Forum will be held on Saturday 22nd September at the Connacht Hotel, Renmore, Galway.
Registration commences at 9:30, with a start time of 10am, finishing no later than 4pm.
Cost for the day is €5, including lunch. Spaces are limited for this day, so please contact the Connaught office on 071-9118320 to reserve a place.

Galway West Special Olympics Club

Galway West Special Olympics Club Open Day took place on Sunday, 5th August at Ower Equestrian Centre, Roscahill.

Club athletes and volunteers were in attendance to give a display of their equestrian skills on the day. A fun day was had by all.

Special Olympics Connaught provides year round sports training and competition for over 1,300 adults and children with intellectual disabilities in Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

Over 30 sports competitions and development days are held annually in 13 Olympic type sports.

There are 73 Special Olympics clubs in the Connaught region.

The mission of Special Olympics is “to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community”.